For the first time ever, a trio of men are legally listed as the parents of a child

Three men became the first group of legal fathers to be noted on their children’s birth certificates. The trieja scored a milestone in American legal history.

Ian Jenkins, Alan Mayfield and Jeremy Allen Hodges used surrogate embryos and uterus to welcome their two children, Piper and Parker, into the world.

The story became famous thanks to the memoirs written by Ian Jenkins Three dads and a baby: the adventures of modern families which were published a few days ago.

The historic milestone came in 2017 when a judge allowed the three to appear on their children’s birth certificates. The event had great relevance for polyamorous families to be recognized in the United States.

Jenkins, who is a doctor, told the Huffington Post how this family was born: “A friend of Jeremy’s gave us the embryos that were left over from IVF that they weren’t using. Yes indeed we had the incredible opportunity to adopt the embryos and make the decision to form a unique family group“.

Although Jenkins in the book assures that they have never experienced rejection or discrimination from anyone in their professional and personal lives, legal recognition was important to them because they didn’t want their children to be seen differently and become the target of criticism, ridicule, harassment or abuse.

Talk to the program The morning showAlan Mayfield, who has had a relationship with Ian Jenkins for 17 years and his partner Jeremy for eight years, said: “The big challenge for us was the legal challenge. To replace a uterus, a court paternity order is needed when the identity of the legal parents is made explicit.“.

“At first we weren’t sure that the three of us could be on the birth certificate, so it became a legal process,” he added. “We had to go to court and the scene was really pretty tense because everything seemed to be against us. We spoke sincerely and frankly, and the judge finally granted paternity to the three of us before our children were born, ”Mayfield said.

When asked why Jenkins wrote and published the memoir, he replied, “I wanted everyone to know that it’s love that makes a family regardless of whether they look different. If each of us cares about our children and does everything possible to give them the best childhood possible, that is the only thing that matters. “

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